When Ana and Guillermo Reyes noticed a guest quietly crying in the dining room, they approached with concern. The explanation stopped them in their tracks.

“He said the beans tasted like his mother’s,” Ana recalled.

This moment captures the soul of Hacienda San Raphael – food that doesn’t just satisfy hunger, it stirs memories.

After spending a long afternoon with the Reyeses at their Longmont restaurant, I found myself flooded with similar emotion. Impeccably fresh Latin dishes are only part of the experience. What lingers long after the meal is an unmistakable warmth and a sense of family woven into every corner of the space.

Ana and Guillermo treat every guest like kin. The passionate husband-and-wife team poured their hearts into creating a homey, colorful sanctuary inspired by their Mexican heritage and travels across Central and South America.

“The menu is ‘Cocina Latina,’ not just Mexican,” Ana explained. “There are dishes from Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela. We tried homemade mom and grandma recipes in a lot of hard-to-reach places.”

Hacienda San Raphael quietly opened in an unassuming stretch of Longmont’s Main Street in June. The interior is whimsical, bright, and lovingly handmade. Ana and Guillermo personally curated every piece of furniture and oversaw every detail – with a little help from their young children.

“Our kids said, ‘Mommy, this is the worst summer ever,’” Ana laughed. “They were helping us paint the tables and chairs.”

Both Ana and Guillermo grew up in Monterrey, Mexico. Ana is a schoolteacher, and Guillermo comes from a strong background in hospitality. The couple met in Miami before relocating to Colorado’s Front Range. Guillermo, a University of Colorado graduate, felt a natural pull to the area.

After watching her husband tirelessly manage every aspect of multiple restaurants, Ana encouraged Guillermo to channel his skillset into opening something of their own.

“If I could describe this restaurant in one word, it would be ‘unique,’” Guillermo said.

He and Ana were introduced to Chef Victor Colunga through family ties. Colunga previously worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants in Mexico before relocating to the United States. Despite his impressive pedigree, he avoids comparisons to past accolades. When Guillermo approached him about the project, Colunga immediately embraced the vision: high-quality, soulful cooking that reflects the depth and diversity of Latin American cuisine.

Chef Victor Colunga

Drawing inspiration from his own travels and multicultural culinary experience, Colunga incorporates a fusion element into the menu, yielding mouthwatering results. One of the chef’s personal favorites, Ají de Camarones, is a Latin and Italian-influenced dish featuring spaghetti tossed in a tangy, creamy ají amarillo sauce topped with perfectly grilled shrimp, peppers, onions, and parmesan.

Deep respect and thoughtful collaboration between Colugna and the Reyeses is apparent. During my time at Hacienda San Raphael, I was truly blown away by every plate.

The Cachapa Venezolana de Queso y Ribeye showcases a corn pancake layered with mozzarella and tender ribeye, served with crisp fried yucca – an homage to travels in Venezuela.

The Tostones Rellenos, inspired by Colombia, present golden plantain cups filled with juicy shredded beef.

Familiar Mexican favorites such as tacos, enchiladas, and chile rellenos are all made from scratch – never frozen. “People love our Mexican food because all 

of our salsas are freshly made. Even our margaritas do not have sweet-and-sour mix. We try to do everything fresh and in the moment,” said Guillermo.

Not to mention, Colugna’s “postres” deserve special recognition. The seasonal flan and arroz con leche are fine-dining-caliber desserts.

The drink menu includes margaritas, mojitos, micheladas, martinis, a variety of original cocktails, beer, wine, and spirits. Ana generously prepared me a selection of well-balanced beverages behind the bar she built with her husband.

When scouting a location for the restaurant, ample parking was non-negotiable. The Reyeses immediately fell in love with 1935 Main Street. In addition to being a centrally located spot that offers ease and accessibility, the space itself sparked Ana’s imagination. “I saw the large windows and imagined guests coming in for a homemade meal while watching the snow fall outside,” she said.

Ana and Guillermo Reyes are deeply grateful for the community’s support. “Our customers have been so patient and kind from the beginning. We built this restaurant to offer high-quality food. As parents, we know how hard it can be to cook at home or find healthy, homemade meals out,” said Ana.

At its core, Hacienda San Raphael is rooted in community, quality, and genuine hospitality.

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The post Off Menu: Hacienda San Raphael appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[ Local ]

• Colorado Department of State website accidentally lists passwords to voting machines, forcing election workers to scramble to ensure the safety of votes.
• Winter storm leads to a record number of people being turned away at Boulder’s largest homeless shelter, All Roads, amid county funding cuts.
• Ballot Question 2C, which will tie Boulder City Council’s pay to the median income in the area, and 2D, which allows council members to meet privately under certain conditions, pass in Boulder. 2E, which would have given the city council more control over boards and commissions, is defeated.
• Erie elects mayor Andrew Moore and passes a 5% excise tax on cannabis, but the town council would have to repeal a ban on dispensaries before any could be opened in Erie.
• The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission unanimously votes to indefinitely pause the controversial Draco Oil and Gas Development Plan which would have allowed for horizontal drilling and fracturing of 26 wellbores, some of which would have extended underneath residential areas and schools.

[ National ]

• Donald J. Trump wins election in spite of extreme policies, making him the second person to ever be elected to two non-consecutive terms as President of the United States. He also becomes the first convicted felon and twice impeached former president to win election
• Trump nominates several strange and unqualified candidates for key positions including Matt Gaetz for attorney general, RFK Jr. as secretary of health and human services, Dr. Mehmet Oz as administrator of Medicaid and Medicare, and Elon Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Gaetz withdraws from the nominating process due to an ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
• Democrats urge Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step down so that Biden can name a younger successor before Trump takes office, but Sotomayor has no plans to retire.
• The US carries out air strikes in Yemen attacking The Houthis, a group allied with Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel.

[ International ]

• Israel steps up its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, launching an air strike against the village of Almat, which is well outside of Hezbollah strongholds.
• Violence erupts during a soccer match in the Netherlands between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and Dutch AFC Ajax team related to the Israeli government’s actions in the War in Gaza
• At least 26 people killed and over 60 wounded after separatists bomb a crowded railway station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
• At least 30 people have died in post-election violence in Mozambique amidst accusations that the election was rigged to keep the ruling Frelimo party in power.
• A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits Cuba as the country is recovering from Hurricane Rafael.

Quotes

“That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to make our country better than it ever has been. They said that many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness. And now we are going to fulfill that mission together. We’re gonna fulfill that mission. The task before us will not be easy, but I will bring every ounce of energy, spirit, and fight that I have in my soul, to the job that you’ve entrusted to me.”
– Donald J. Trump in his terrifying victory speech

“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. A defeat does not mean we are defeated”
– Joe Biden addressing the nation following Harris’ loss to Trump

“Prosperity and abundance agenda. We have focused on saving people money through three income tax rate reductions (two at the ballot box and one through the leg: 4.63%>4.5%>4.4%>4.25%), cutting property taxes, free preschool and kindergarten for every child, eliminating sales tax on necessities like diapers and feminine hygiene products, and we are in the process of delivering on pro-housing supply solutions, investing in transit and transit-enhanced living opportunities… all while protecting and expanding personal freedom and respect for everyone.” 
– Colorado Governor Jared Polis on the secret to keeping Colorado blue while much of the nation went red

“We’re really apprehensive about what we’re going to do this winter” 
– Andy Schultheiss, chief development and communications officer at All Roads, discussing the organization’s fears about the high demand for homeless shelter services amid funding cuts

By the Numbers

10,901,567

The difference between votes that Democrats received in 2020 and 2024. While the Democrats’ number of votes decreased significantly between elections, Donald Trump received roughly the same number of votes in both elections

727

The estimated number of unhoused people in Boulder County according to the latest Point in Time count from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative

3,002

The estimated number of people killed in Lebanon by Israel over the past 13 months

2

Thankfully, the number of terms a President is allowed to serve, even non-consecutively, according to the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution

The post Month In Review | November 2024 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

“No estampan mi passport, por favor.” A customs official, who couldn’t have been more than 25, slipped a piece of paper into my passport, pounded a blue ink dolphin stamp onto it, and my friend Johnny Rev and I were off for a week-long adventure in Cuba.

The whole week was stupid cheap, from the Spring Break round trip airfare from Denver to Cancun to the $30 a night (including breakfast and paid in U.S. currency, thank you) high-rise apartment accommodations, we were buzzing with excitement.

Both of us brought things to leave behind: Pencils, candy and gum for sure, but we each really wanted to play some baseball with the locals. That was our quest, and we were armed with gloves, hats, T-shirts and real Major League Baseballs.

It took us a couple of days of exploring out and around from our apartment on Avenida de los Presidentes to find it, the monolithic, abandoned, poured concrete edifice to sports: Parque Jose Marti Stadium.

The 10-block walk down to the ocean-front facility brought us to the dusty dirt expanse where dried weeds and bits of trash occupied the infield of what looked to be a soccer and track stadium.

Johnny and I brought our gloves and a ball in the hopes of playing catch. But the dirt field was already hosting a game among 14 or so college students. In my nearly forgotten college Spanish, I asked if we could play. At first there was hesitancy; these kids weren’t too keen on letting some old gringos who could barely speak the language horn in on their game. But when they saw the MLB ball—and realized they could replace the hard wad of masking tape they were using as a ball with the real McCoy—we were in. And being that there were two of us, it made it easy; I was on one team, and Johnny was on the other.

There’s something magical about throwing yourself at a random adventure. If you bring the correct gear and the right frame of mind, providence has no choice but to take your life to 11. Such was the case on that sunny March day 12 years ago.

Johnny took shortstop for his team and, as is his way, acquitted himself like an All Star. He made diving, Superman stops of sharply hit grounders. For my team, I roamed about in left center and chased down long, arching drives from the eager bats of kids who had never connected with a real baseball in their life.

Fielding is one thing, but in a pick-up game, it’s all about the offense. My team was thrilled that I scored three times on my four doubles in four at-bats. But Johnny capped a stellar defensive display with hitting for the cycle. We were heralded and cheered and our teammates chattered their excitement in machine gun bursts of Spanish.

We returned two days later for another game and were greeted like old friends. After the game, we left our gloves, balls (three), hats and T-shirts with our teammates, who shook with excitement about such gifts. I even traded my moderately worn Adidas tennis shoes for another guy’s cheap knock-offs of Converse All Stars that were held together with prodigious amounts of duct tape and twine laces.

I have no idea what the score was for either game we played, but I do know that Johnny and I were the undisputed winners.

The post Field of Dreams appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a challenge. Seriously, how can we not be able to visit these places. Who’s coming to Mexico with me and boarding the first flight to Cuba?

—Jacob Harkins, Yellow Scene Magazine editor

The post Have plans for the 4th? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.